This text is an excerpt from the book, Pie in the Sky, by Susan G. Purdy
Susan G. Purdy’s
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake
This old-fashioned, moist chocolate cake has a fine grain and a tender crumb. Fill the layers with your favorite preserves and top the cake with sifted powdered sugar or your favorite chocolate icing.
| Ingredients | Sea Level | 3,000 feet | 5,000 feet | 7,000 feet | 10,000 feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oven rack position, temperature, and baking time | Rack in lower third of oven; Bake at 325°F: layers for 35 to 45 minutes | Rack in center; Bake at 375°F: layers for 25 to 27 minutes | Rack in center; Bake at 375°F: layers for 25 to 30 minutes | Rack in lower third of oven; Bake at 350°F: layers for 30 to 32 minutes | Rack in lower third of oven; Bake at 350°F: layers for 32 to 35 minutes |
| Unsweetened chocolate, chopped | 4 ounces | 4 ounces | 4 ounces | 4 ounces | 4 ounces |
| Sifted all-purpose flour | 2 cups | 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons | 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons | 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons | Unsifted 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons |
| Baking soda | 1½ teaspoons | 1¼ teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon | 1¼ teaspoons | 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon |
| Salt | ¼ teaspoon | ½ teaspoon | ½ teaspoon | ½ teaspoon | ½ teaspoon |
| Nutmeg | ¼ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon |
| Unsalted butter, at room temperature | 1 cup (2 sticks) |
1 cup (2 sticks) |
1 cup (2 sticks) |
1 cup (2 sticks) |
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) |
| Granulated sugar | 1¾ cups | 1½ cups plus 3 tablespoons |
1½ cups plus 3 tablespoons |
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons |
1½ cups plus 3 tablespoons |
| Vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon | 1 teaspoon | 1 teaspoon | 1 teaspoon | 1½ teaspoons |
| Large eggs, at room temperature | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 plus 1 yolk |
| Buttermilk | 11⁄3 cups | 1½ cups | 1½ cups | 1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons | 1½ cups |
- Position the rack and preheat the oven as indicated for your altitude in the chart. Coat two 9-inch shiny round metal pans with no-stick vegetable spray or solid shortening, line with parchment or wax paper, grease again, then dust with sifted cocoa; tap out excess cocoa.
- Melt chocolate in microwave (stir often) or put in the top of a double boiler set over simmering (sea level to 4500 feet) or boiling (5000 feet and above) water and heat until you can stir it smooth. Remove chocolate from heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Scrape down the bowl and beater, then beat in the vanilla and the eggs and scrape down bowl again. With the mixer on the lowest speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Stir the melted chocolate, then scrape it into the batter and beat well.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake as indicated for your altitude in the chart, or until cake is springy to the touch and a cake tester in the center comes out clean. Cool layers in their pans on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes, then run a knife between the cake and the pan sides to release them. Top each layer with a cake disk and invert; remove pan, peel off parchment, and cool layers completely. Fill layers with raspberry (or other fruit) preserves and top with sifted powdered sugar or your favorite chocolate icing.
Cake photo by Dennis Gottlieb